Police have detained a suspect in a series of apparently random shootings. (Shutterstock)

(Newser)
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Shootings early yesterday left three dead in attacks that the Los Angeles Times calls "seemingly random." Four were wounded in the San Fernando Valley shootings in the Los Angeles area. Police have detained a suspect; as to witness reports that multiple attackers were involved, "I can't tell you whether there was a second individual; we're following all clues and leads at this time," a police rep said. The same weapon was involved in all the attacks, which were carried out from a vehicle, authorities say, per the AP.

A family of five was shot en route to church in the early morning; the attack left a 22-year-old woman dead and her parents in critical condition, police say. Within about 40 minutes, a man was killed at a recreation center; the shooters, who were reportedly driving a tan or gold SUV, "never got out of the vehicle," police say. Some 15 minutes after that, a woman, identified to the Times by family and friends as Gloria Esperanza Tobar, 59, was killed in her car near a church. "It's a major threat," says a police rep. "If you see someone that matches that description or their vehicle matches that description, then go off to an adjacent street," he said. "Get away."